Quill and Quire

BOOK REVIEWS

The Least Important Man

By Alex Boyd

Alex Boyd’s sophomore collection has what one speaker calls “that being-filmed feeling.” Boyd’s eye is panoramic and moves with seeming ease from roof to handrail to a woman holding an umbrella. The formal structure of ... Read More »

May 15, 2012 | Filed under: Poetry

The Bones of His Being

By Sue Chenette

In The Bones of His Being, Toronto-based poet Sue Chenette explores loss and what remains. She finds – in old photographs, in subtle exchanges, and in quiet moments – the skeletal shape of her dead ... Read More »

May 15, 2012 | Filed under: Poetry

The Smooth Yarrow

By Susan Glickman

Susan Glickman’s newest collection opens with a Celtic incantation about aspiring to embody the virtues of nature. The yarrow sticks alluded to in the title are used in conjunction with the I Ching as tools ... Read More »

May 15, 2012 | Filed under: Poetry

★ Origins

By Darryl Whetter

Many poets, hungry for a readership that extends beyond family, friends, and other poets, eventually take a run at writing fiction. Fewer novelists go the other way and make a detour into verse. That makes ... Read More »

May 15, 2012 | Filed under: Poetry

Whirl Away

By Russell Wangersky

Of the 12 stories that comprise Russell Wangersky’s new collection, only the last possesses an ending that could be called happy. In fact, the ending in question has more cautious optimism than unabashed joy, but ... Read More »

May 15, 2012 | Filed under: Fiction: Short

Bloodman

By Robert Pobi

The debut novel from Montreal writer Robert Pobi begins with a classic trope of literary fiction: a middle-aged man returns home to care for his aging father, now suffering from Alzheimer’s. For Jake Cole, that ... Read More »

May 15, 2012 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

Triggers

By Robert J. Sawyer

The premise of Robert J. Sawyer’s 21st novel seems like a recipe for a great thriller. In a near-future Washington, D.C., the U.S. president is shot by a sniper. He survives, but while he’s in ... Read More »

May 15, 2012 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

The Last Hiccup

By Christopher Meades

Vancouver-based writer Christopher Meades follows up his 2010 debut, The Three Fates of Henrik Nordmark, with a sophomore effort that is both more ambitious and more accomplished. The earlier novel introduced Meades’ penchant for quirky, ... Read More »

May 15, 2012 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels